Chapter 22: CH 22

(Eve’s POV)

“I’m sorry that I asked for marriage first and then brought up the topic of divorce. But I think this is also a good thing for His Grace.”

“It’s okay. I was just a little surprised.”

The Grand Duke replied indifferently.

“I was just surprised to hear the word ‘Divorce’ from the woman who was raging until a few days ago that she would die if I didn’t marry her.”

The tone was indifferent and sarcastic in a way like saying, ‘You initiated this marriage first, now you’re talking about divorce?’

I bowed my head with an apologetic look as sincere as possible.

“I really apologize about everything that I’ve done in the past. But now I have completely given up on my feelings for His Grace.”

“You’ve already given up?”

“Yes, I don’t have the same feelings anymore. I completely gave up.”

The Grand Duke stared at me without saying a word.

There was a confused look on those purple eyes who were looking right at me.

‘Why do you look confused?’

“Why……”

The Great Duke closed his mouth while trying to say something.

‘Are you trying to ask why I don’t like you anymore?’

Well I kind of understand his bewilderment, because it’s really strange if the person who was chasing him endlessly, suddenly changed and drew the line saying, ‘I’m sorry, but I don’t like you anymore’. 

You must be wondering why the sudden change of heart occurred.

But you can’t ask for it yourself.

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“Please stop chasing me! I hate it!” and then the other person started to walk away, and he said, “Why?……. Why don’t you like me anymore?” If he asked me those questions, he would seem as strange as the stalker.

Of course, I also needed some plausible reason to answer the question, “Why did you suddenly change your mind?”

It is only when this issue is clearly addressed at this point that we will be able to keep the line and get along well even after we get married.

“You may think it was a slap on your part, I sincerely fell in love with His Grace. But in fact, I actually wanted to marry His Grace…… For some other reasons as well.”

I looked straight at the Grand Duke and brought up the lie that I had prepared in advance.

“I thought that if I married the Grand Duke, the Imperial Family and the Grand Duke would be able to live peacefully together, holding hands. It drove me to get married.”

“You’ve thought about that?”

“I don’t know much about politics, but I’m not blind either. I know that His Grace the Grand Duke and my father, His Majesty the Emperor, are far worse off than they seem.”

The Emperor and the Grand Duke were no different than the (*)Cheolcheon  supporters, but on the surface, the relationship seemed a little difficult.

(T/N: Cheolcheon was used as an expression referring to a relationship that is not just between enemies, but where there is an intense resentment to each other. Ref: based on the SBS drama ‘Saimdang Light’s Diary’.)

So, Eve may have been acting up to marry the Great Prince without knowing that fact.

“I thought it would help both the Imperial Family and the Grand Duke relationship, if I and His Grace got married. But… It was all my misunderstanding.”

I looked away as if to hide my bitter disappointment.

I wanted him to think that I tried to mediate between the two in my own way, but in the end I was used and abandoned by my own father. Of course, Eve couldn’t have thought of it that way, since I planned all of it myself….

I remained silent while playing the daughter in sorrow.

After a while, the Grand Duke spoke quietly, as if trying to comfort me.

“It’s not a stupid idea, to be honest. If His Majesty the Emperor was not outside of common sense, it would be reasonable for the Princess to go with it as expected.”

I bowed my head deeply, after I received those words.

“I am very sorry for causing all those troubles to you. I realized how selfish it can be to force your emotions on other people at will. I will never do that again in the future.”

Then, with a look of great regret, I made a promise to him.

“After we get married, I will be quietly living in the Duchy. If His Grace wishes for it, I can also live alone in the estate.”

If he asks me to go to the estate and stay there, it would be fine to stay there alone.

Please do not repost our translation. Read only at Pink Muffin Translations.

Just like what the Grand Duke said, the territory will be much safer than the capital.

Even if I lived in the mansion on the island, I already expected that I would be locked up and only come out of the mansion once it was set up by the Grand Duke.

“I won’t bother you wherever you are.”

But even after hearing all of my earnest determination, the Grand Duke remained silent.

After a few minutes, he asked me a question.

“Is that your condition? To divorce after a few years?”

“What?…. Yes.”

The Grand Duke looked at me still, then turned back over the balcony.

“All right.”

Then he changed the topic with a dull tone.

“Do you know how the Emperor intends to kill the Princess on the day of the wedding?”

At that question, a stiff tension flowed through my body again.

“No.”

And this was another problem with my survival plan.

“I don’t know their methods of killing. I just knew that I was going to die on the day of my wedding.

It was not thoroughly explained in the original novel, on how exactly Eve was killed.

“But you said that you saw it with your foresight, right?”

I explained in detail as I pointed it out at the Grand Duke’s suspicious gaze.

“My foresight appears in short scenes. It’s a glimpse of that moment when something important happens.”

That was the description of Eve’s ability in the novel.

As a result of using the abilities myself, the foresight was quite specific, although short.

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It feels like stepping in and out of a scene in a movie or drama.

“What I saw was my dead body on the day of the wedding and the Emperor telling everyone that this incident was a conspiracy. That was all that I was able to see.”

But in fact, that was all that I knew, based on the original novel.

In the story, Eve was killed right before the wedding started, and there was a dagger used by the knights of the Grand Duke lying next to the body.

Because of that, the Grand Duke was accused of being the culprit, but of course, the real murdered is His Majesty the Emperor.

There is only this brief explanation.

The scene of Eve’s death was never depicted.

Whether it was a knight, a soldier, a priest, or one of Eve’s maids who stabbed Eve’s body with the sword.

It doesn’t exactly explain who killed Eve at the Emperor’s order, and at what time and where she died is not fully explained.

Well, I can’t do anything about it.

Because Eve’s death wasn’t a very important episode in the original story.

‘Eve died on the wedding day.’

It was said simply like that.

But that’s okay. I just really need to be careful on the day of the wedding.

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“And that’s not all.”

The bigger problem is that the Emperor tried to kill Eve several times before the wedding.

In the original novel, the Emperor’s recollection of Eve’s death appears briefly.

According to his retrospective, he originally planned to assassinate Eve around the time the wedding was imminent.

It was said that it had failed a few times because of Eve’s fickleness.

That was all the explanation was given in the novel.

It was not known when, how, or in what manner she was attempted to be assassinated.

There were several assassination plans, but they all failed due to Eve’s whim, and the last success was on the day of the wedding.

‘What kind of whim did Eve have for her to escape death?’

I’ve been thinking about it, but I really can’t figure it out at all.

Due to the lack of information, only vague guesses were possible.

Eve is currently on probation, but a few days before the wedding, she must have gone out and met other people.

Perhaps Eve escaped the crisis of death by canceling or changing the appointment out of the blue.

But I’m not the original Eve.

Perhaps unlike Eve, attempts to assassinate may not be avoided.

I also informed the Grand Duke that there would be several more assassination attempts.

It can’t be said that I read this inside a book, so I mixed a bit of lies, saying, “I heard the Emperor talking in my vision.”

“I see.”

The Grand Duke’s expression changed seriously when he heard my full explanation.

There are risks not only on the day of the wedding, but also before that.

However, I didn’t know how the danger would come, so I was also at a loss to come up with a way to prevent it.

The Grand Duke slowly knocked on the railing of the terrace with one hand.

I said, while looking at his side, who lost in thought.

“But since the wedding is just around the corner, wouldn’t it be better to be careful on those few days?””

That’s what I said, but I wasn’t even sure about that.

Because I don’t know exactly when the assassination attempts will begin.

Besides, I’m acting differently from the original Eve for me to survive.

Wouldn’t that make the situation more dangerous than the original story?

The Grand Duke had a similar opinion as me.

“Well, plans always have variables in it. If there’s anything suspicious, the Emperor may advance or change his plan.”

Then Eve, no, I will die before the wedding day.

As long as I’m inside his territory, the Emperor will be able to kill me and arrange as if it was done by the Grand Duke.

“And you also mention that you have to touch the person itself, with your own hands for you to see the foresight?”

I nodded.

“Then, we always need to be together for you to see the future related to me”.

“That’s correct.”

It is not enough to just simply depend on my foreknowledge of the Grand Duke.

As of right now, I only have very little information about what goes on in the institution until the day of my wedding.

If I want to know ahead of time what will happen before the wedding, then I have no choice but to rely on foresight.

In particular, to see the future related to politics, it was necessary to go out into the social world and make contact with important people.

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Maybe then I’ll get a hint of any plan to kill me.

However, if I go outside the palace, there is a high probability that I will be exposed to danger.

Of course, it wasn’t safe to be in the Imperial Palace either.

‘This is very difficult.’

While I was in deep thought, the Grand Duke, who had been silent for a while, spoke first.

“How about you stay close to me wherever I am, so that I can protect the Princess on my side?”

“What do you mean to stay close?”

“Since we’re officially engaged, there’s nothing strange about being together all the time.”

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